


Words Win Wars

by cordeliadelayne



Category: Being Human (UK)
Genre: Detox, Episode Tag, Friendship, Gen, Season/Series 04
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-02
Updated: 2015-05-02
Packaged: 2018-03-26 17:48:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,552
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3859315
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cordeliadelayne/pseuds/cordeliadelayne
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>There are some things it's impossible to do alone.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Words Win Wars

**Author's Note:**

> Set directly after series 4 so, spoilers for the whole series.

It was the inevitability of it all that Hal found the most galling. That he'd slip back into his old ways as easily as putting on a pair of Marigolds, that events would conspire against him.

No, that wasn't quite right. _He_ was responsible for his own actions. He could have found a different way to regain Cutler's trust. He could never have killed Cutler and his wife in the first place, that would have saved them all a lot of trouble.

The arrogance of it, thinking he could fight his true nature.

“You do know you just said all that out loud, don't you?” Alex asked. She was perched on the bar counter, her legs dangling in front of her. The last thing Hal remembered her talking about was how annoying it was not being able to change clothes and that she couldn't see why she couldn’t just Rentaghost a new set on. After that it was all something of a blur.

“Of course I was aware,” Hal said, instead.

Alex just raised a disbelieving eyebrow.

Hal tugged again at his restraints, not sure when he'd become weak enough to be trapped by a werewolf and a ghost but knowing that if he’d kept up with the blood he'd have eviscerated them both before they'd have been able to tie him down.

“Can't eviscerate a ghost,” Tom said, walking out of the kitchen. “Tea?” he asked, holding up two mugs.

“No, thank you,” Hal replied politely, though what he really wanted to do was snap and snarl. He used to have better control than this. Back when he was avoiding people and refusing to let anyone in.

“I know mate,” Tom said, “but we'll get you back to that in no time, you'll see. You'll be avoiding us like we've got fleas or summat soon enough.”

Tom put one mug on the counter and then sat with his own on the sofa.

“I can take over for a bit, if you’ve got things to do,” Tom said to Alex.

“Do?” Alex said. “What would I have to do? I think being dead pretty much disqualifies me from having to do anything ever again.”

Tom shrugged. “Maybe you should work out what your unfinished business is? Make a list, like? There's paper in my room.”

Alex looked between Tom and Hal. “Fine. I know when I'm not wanted.” And then she disappeared upstairs.

“Don't think she took offence, do ya?” Tom asked Hal. “Just thought you and me could have a chat. All civil like.”

“A _chat_?” Hal asked, his voice going an octave higher than normal. “How wonderful.”

“All right, no need to be like that.” Tom took a long slurp of his tea and watched Hal, visually inspecting each of the cables that were keeping him tied in place. Hal had to admit they were pretty secure.

“I know,” Tom said. “McNair taught me that. Never used 'em to keep a vampire alive before though,” he added as an afterthought.

“And what would he say, McNair, if he knew you were helping a vampire?”

“Probably call me an idiot and stake you when I weren't looking,” Tom said. “McNair didn't know everything”.

Hal found himself relaxing against his restraints, as he always did when Tom started talking. He wasn't sure if it was because he could sense the wolf or because he could sense a friend.

“He's still doing that internal monologue thing externally then?” Alex asked, popping back into the room.

“Yeah,” Tom said. “Hard to believe he don't know he's doing it.”

“Well, I don't,” Hal said emphatically. “Believe me, if I could stop _sharing_ , I would.” He glared at them both but it didn't seem to have any effect. “I was the scourge of Europe once, you know.”

“Yeah, we know,” Alex replied, and sounded as if she didn't care at all. “I'm bored. What did Annie used to do?” she asked Tom.

“Dunno really,” Tom said. He finished off his tea and leaned back as if it needed a lot of thought. “Folded clothes. Looked after Eve. Made tea, mostly.”

“Right,” Alex said. “What's the point of making tea if you can't drink it yourself? And if you's two think I'm looking after you, you're in for a shock.”

“It gave her death a purpose,” Hal said, very slowly. “Something to focus on.”

“I think saving the world gave her death purpose,” Alex replied, “not how many cups of tea she could make.”

She sat down next to Tom and looked at him expectantly.

“How's that list going?” Tom asked. He got up and started collecting the few mugs they'd left out. “Any ideas what your unfinished business might be?”

Alex bit her bottom lip. Then she disappeared and reappeared with that morning's paper in her hand.

“Have you read this yet?” she asked Tom.

“Nah,” Tom replied, “I was saving it for later. Why?”

“They're having a memorial service for me later. My family.” She looked uncomfortably down at her boots and held out the paper to Tom. He took it, read it, and then held it out at arm's length from Hal so that he could read it too. Hal rolled his eyes and shook his head a little at Tom, but still tried to concentrate enough so that the black type didn't dance across the page.

“They think you died in a car accident?” Hal asked, curiosity getting the better of him. It did help, a little, to have something other than himself to think about.

“I guess that's what those blokes told them, happened?” Alex suggested.

“Yeah, what was all that about?” Tom asked. “They were human, right?”

“As far as I could tell,” Hal said.

“Then what they doing clearing up after vampires for?”

“And werewolves,” Hal said. “Don't forget they're slowly getting rid of all the footage of you frolicking about and discredited as a hoax whatever was left. They clearly aren't amateurs.”

“So they’ve done this before then”? Alex asked. “Just – that's what they do, clean up supernatural messes?”

Hal made a face at Alex's tone; clearly she was incapable of taking anything seriously.

“Don't take that tone with me,” Alex said. “No one who drank my blood is gonna be taking the high road with me any time soon.”

“Are you ever going to let that go?” Hal asked, sagging against his restraints. “I didn't know - “

“Didn’t know it was Alex's blood. Yeah,” Tom interrupted, “but you still drank it.”

Tom stared at Hal as if that argument solved everything and Hal merely shook his head and then sighed in exasperation. He was surrounded by idiots.

Alex and Tom glared at him.

“I'd say it was the blood making him this rude but, well, you shoulda seen him when he first got here.”

“Oh yes,” Alex replied, “because he's not been at all weird or psychotic whilst I've known him.”

“Sarcasm,” Hal said, very precisely, “is the lowest form of wit.”

“I don't care – do you care – no I don't don't care,” Alex said, nodding her head at Tom who looked innocently back.

“The treatment’s definitely working,” Hal said after a moment.

“Yeah?” Tom asked.

“Yes. I no longer want to drink all the blood of everyone in the world and rip you both to pieces.”

“No?” Alex asked, hopefully.

“No. I merely wish to kill myself and end the torment of your presence.”

“Right, well, that's just unkind,” Tom said, backing away to the kitchen. “Want to watch me make tea you can't drink, Alex?”

“Don't mind if I do, Tom,” she said, deliberately turning her back on Hal and following Tom into the kitchen.

Hal cursed them out a little, because it was easier to do that when they weren't actually in the room, and then he tried to relax. None of his usual techniques were working but he soon found that replaying Alex and Tom's conversation did help, even when they were being insulting. Because it meant they cared. And having someone care had been what Leo, and Pearl, had done for him – been people who'd be disappointed if he failed. He needed that, probably more than he needed to avoid people all together.

And through whatever random misadventures the universe threw at him, right now the people he cared about were in the next room, willing to put up with him even at his most obnoxious and blood crazed. The least he could do was properly let them help.

“All right,” Hal called out, “let's take this from the top, shall we?”

“About time,” Tom said, stepping out of the kitchen in front of Alex. “We thought you'd never shut up.”

Hal sighed. “I said all of that out loud again, didn’t I?”

“Yeah,” Alex said, smiling. “But it's okay. It was kind of – sweet really.” She stopped and cocked her head to one side. “Or do I mean pathetic? It's always so hard to tell with you.”

“Ha, ha,” Hal said, expression settled on unamused. “Shall we begin?”

“All right,” Tom said. He pulled out a typewritten sheet that Leo had left in Annie's care when they'd first arrived. He straightened it out, held it at arm's length, and, as Alex made herself comfortable on the sofa, he cleared his throat. “Step one...”


End file.
